Metaanalyses of Acustimulation Effects on Nausea and Vomiting Across Different Patient Populations: A Brief Overview of Existing Evidence

A growing body of literature has been accumulated over the past 30 years to explore the effect of acustimulations (AS) including acupuncture, acupressure, and electrical stimulation of acupoints on symptoms of nausea and vomiting (NVS) across various patient populations.^1-10 Medical and nursing professionals around the world (United States, Canada, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, India, Pakistan, United Kingdom, Ireland, Sweden, Germany, Norway, Austria, Italy, Greece, Croatia, Australia, Israel, and others) have participated in generating clinical trials to identify the best evidence-based practices. The authors have organized this body of literature into a series of metaanalyses to yield meaningful summative evidence and conclusions about the effects of AS on NVS. This brief overview paper provides a description of the current evidence and the need to perform a series of metaanalyses of AS on NVS across three patient populations: postoperative adults, pregnant women, and postoperative children. A metaanalysis of the effect of AS on NVS postoperative adults is reported in this issue of EXPLORE, and two subsequent papers in future issues will provide details of individual metaanalysis for pregnant women and postoperative children.